Fascinating food in New York and occasionally farther afield

Fong On

This "family tofu shop" was once best-known, when known at all, as the factory outlet for soy and rice products sold at Fong Inn Too, its Mott St. storefront (now closed). Tofu squares, destined for restaurants, were the chief wholesale product. Many retail customers, however, visited the shop for hot taho, also known as soy custard (despite the lack of egg) or tofu pudding.

After a 2019 makeover and reopening, Fong On once again provides walk-up customers with tofu pudding, now with choices of toppings and syrups. Shown here is one of three house combos, christened with red beans, grass jelly, and taro balls. The most familiar syrup takes its character from brown sugar; at the counterwoman's suggestion, I added a gentle kick with the "more traditional" ginger syrup instead.

From several years back, before the shop's makeover: Hot tofu pudding sits in a tub (in the first photo below, shown uncovered), waiting to be scooped into takeaway containers. It's bland before the addition of a little syrup, much of which quickly filters to the bottom; delving deep with a spoon breaks up the pudding into smaller bits. Perhaps this looser consistency was the genesis of another name, dou hua — in full, dou fu hua, or "bean curd flower."